extraordinary uses for aluminum foil: starting seeds

Build a seed incubator! (It is getting to be that time of year.) To give plants grown from seeds a healthy head start, line a shoe box (or two, or twelve) with aluminum foil, shiny side up, allowing about two inches of foil to extend out over the sides. Poke several drainage holes in the bottom–penetrating the foil–then fill the box slightly more than halfway with potting soil, and plant the seeds. The foil inside the box will absorb heat to keep the seeds warm while they germinate, and the foil outside the box will reflect light onto the young sprouts. Place the box near a sunny window, keep the soil moist, and watch ’em grow!

From Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things